Apparatus for stretching



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. J. YOUNG APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING June '14; 1949.

Original Filed July 25, 1940 bla k:

F. J. YOUNG APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING June 14, 1949.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 25, 1940 atto'mma June 14, 1949. F. JJYOUNG 2,473,404

APPARATUS FOR STRETGHING Original Filed July 25, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet s June 14, 1949. F. J. YOUNG 2,473,404

APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING Original Filed July 25, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 5575 J. You/v6 Patented June 14, 1949 STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING Foster J. Young, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignor to Wingfoot Corporation, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Original application July 25, 1940, Serial No.

347,465. Divided and this application August 17, 194.6, Serial No. 691,371

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of a continuous film of a thermostretchable material and, more particularly, the lateral stretching of such film. By thermostretchable is meant the with the accompanying drawings which are ilability to be stretched on heating. The internal lustrative. The invention is not limited thereto. viscosity of thermostretchable materials is sufii- Fig. 1 is a plan view of apparatus for laterally ciently high so that after stretching they do not stretching and laminating film;

retract to their former dimensions unless heated. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the apparatus shown However, some retraction takes place as soon as in Fig. 1;

the stretching tension is released. Although the Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2; invention will be described more particularly as Fig. 4 is a plan view, and Fig. 5 is an elevation related to the stretching and other treatment of showing more or less diagrammatically an alterrubber hydrochloride film, the apparatus is for native method of lamination;

the treatment of films of other thermostretch Fig. 6 shows more or less diagrammatically able materials, such as cellulose esters, polyvinyl an elevation of apparatus for lamination; derivatives, preferably plasticized, etc. Fig.7showsalaminated sheet;

The invention includes several features of the Fig. 8 is a plan view, and Fig. 9 is an elevation apparatus. It includes apparatus for grasping of a tenter clip used in stretching the film; the film. It includes apparatus for heating the Fig. 10 is a plan view of alternative means film, particularly apparatus for controlled heatfor stretching; ing with means for varying the heated zones. Fig. 11 is a section on the line ll-H of Fig. It includes apparatus for laminating after 10; stretching. It includes other features of the ap- Fig. 12 is a plan view of other gripping means paratus as defined in the claims. for stretching the film; 7

Although the lateral stretching of a continu- Fig. 13 is a section on the line l3-|3 of one film has been described in the art, it is be- Fig. 12; lieved that hitherto the process has never been Fig. 14 is an elevation of a difierent gripping carried on commercially; and so far as is known, means for stretching the film; and no commercial apparatus has been designed. In Fig. 15 is a section on the line I5-l5 of attempting to carry out such an operation in 3 Fig. 14. the production of products to be sold, various Referring to the drawings, the film to be problems presented themselves. The solution of stretched is supplied from the roll I. The Weight these problems was essential to the carrying out 2 keeps the film under tension. The film passes of the process on a commercial scale. The procthrough the oven 3 where it is heated and cos of stretching a continuous film laterally difstretched, and it is finally wound up on the windfers radicall from stretching a continuous film up roll 4. longitudinally. The simple method of stretching The oven is heated by hot air. Th air is longitudinally comprises continuously passing the forced into the oven by the fan 5 driven by an film over a heated roll which is driven at a low electric motor. The air entering the fan is rate of speed and continuousl pulling the film heated as it passes over the steam coils 6. In from the heated roll by pull rolls with a surface the type of oven shown in the drawings the speed much higher than that of the heated roll. heated air enters the top of the oven through As the heated film leaves the heated roll, it is the conduit 1, and the bottom through the conrapidly cooled. As the power required to stretch duit 8. The front portion 9 of the oven is narthe film in a heated condition is less than that row. It is referred to herein as the preheater. required to stretch the film when cold, the longi- The walls IU of the preheater are parallel. In tudinal stretching occurs at the hottest zone of passing through the preheater, the film is brought the film, and this is substantially a straight line to a substantially uniform temperature. Thereadjacent the heated roll and its location on the after it is stretched. As the film is stretched film changes progressively as the film passes from '50 laterally, it passes through the oven proper which the roll. As distinguished from such straightis fan shaped. This portion of the oven is reline stretching, the lateral stretching of film ferred to herein by the reference numeral II. is an area stretching, and one of the problems Bafiles l2 and i3 are provided to control the involved is to maintain the film at the desired circulation of the hot air within this portion temperatureduring stretching. The method of II of the oven.

The air is vented from the oven through the holes l4 and also through the opening I 5 which separates the preheater and oven into an upper half and lower half which are entirely separate from one another. The film passes through this opening l5. :The' film is held tight: and stretched by gripping-means which are loeated-woutside of the oven. Within the oven are baffles I6 and I? which prevent the hot air from passing directly out of the oven through the openings. l4. .These bafiles are pivoted on the rods l8 and '13 so that they may be swung in an arc. .aThexzoneuoftthe oven between the bafiies lfi and |'|%:-is.: -at:iai,considerably higher temperature than the zones between theSe bafiles l6 and H .and the outer walls of the oven in which the openings 4.,'arei-located. Although but two 'bafiles l6 and H are shown in Fig. 1, there are corresponding baffles in the lower half of the oven. .The location of the'baflle I! is varied by movement of the handle 2|], and the location of-the corresponding baffieeatthe bottom of the oven by movementooftheidiandle 2|. There are corresponding handles .on .the opposite side of the oven to control: the-:position of the baffle l6 and the: bafiie located inthatha-lf of the bottom of the oven. The position of the bafiie I2 is controlled by=the'handle:22. There is corresponding means (not shown)..at.the"bottom of the oven for controlling the position of the baffle |3. The drawing shows doors 2-3 .which ma be removed .to gain access to the interior Of the oven.

In order to stretch the filmxlaterally itcis gripped at each side by grippingxmeans which are moved progressively farther apart-as thexfilm passes through the oven. The preferred'form of gripping means are tenter. clips which mayxbeof a usual design, such as :that shown in detail in Figs. Sand 9. The tenter clips are linked together to form two chains, one onreithersidetof the oven. These-chains pass .overthe sprockets 26 which are operated at the same rate of speed. Suitable guiding means (not-shown) aWhi'ch-may be of the usual type, is provided its icausetthe divergence of the twoichains of tenterclips which is necessary to stretch the film laterally.

The tenter clips.2| comprisea .latch .28 which is pivoted on the bari29. Asthel'latch swings down, it holds thefilm 30..against the:.;plate .3|, and the tension on the film draws this'latch against the plate;:.and the greater thertension, the greater the force-with which: the filmisheld in place. The wire-spring-32wasifound 15011138 advantageous to force the latchagainst the-bottom plate 3| with.- sufficient -force..to.ihold :the film in place before much tension has beenapplied to the film.

At the'front of rthe .machine-pn-either sidezis a bar 33, and atlthe back of the v.machineon either side is a bar 34. As the tenter clipsrmove 2,

toward the film at the front of the machine, the latches 28 press against the .bars:33..and'.=are thereby lifted off of the lbottonnplatei3l. the tenter clips come into;position,mthe :latchesi28 .are thus lifted so that the filmas-ituleaves. the roll and enters the preheater isstretched taut across the opening where the latclr. 28..latergrips it. As the tenter. clips come'into position vto grip the. film, they pass beyond .the: bars 33 ;..and. as the latches 28 pass outof contact withthesexbars, they fall onto the film-and1are pressed by the spring 32 against the film 'withzsuflicientforce toobtain a tight gripton'the :film. sThe film-is thus gripped tightly on each side ibymhestenter clips as it passes through the preheater. F'I hen return to the front of the machine, and the op- .eration is repeated.

Turning now to Fig. 2, it is seen that the film .30 .passes in contact with various rolls between the-:oven and the wind-up roll 4. The steel roll ofthe tenter chains.

.40 below around the roll 4|.

:40 is a heated roll. 4| and 42. These rolls 4| and 42 are driven at It is supported by the rolls a surface speed at least as great as the speed The pressure of the roll 40 on these two rolls 4| and 42 grips the film and pulls it forward in the center as well as at the sides to overcome the lagging clue to the tendency of the laterally stretched film to retract in length.

The pressure of the heated roll 40 onthe rolls 4! and 42 is used in lamination of the stretched film with other sheet material. When the lamination is effected by heat and pressure,. as when one rubber hydrochloride film-is laminated to another rubber hydrochloride film, it is advantageous to effect the lamination while the film is still hot from the stretching operation. 'Ihe'roll 40 which is a heavy heated roll is, therefore, located just beyond the oven. The film to be laminated to the stretched film 30 may :be brought from above around the roll 40, or itmay be brought from below around the roll 4|. The heavy roll 40 presses against the rolls 4| and 42 with sufficient pressure to unite two or more plies of rubber hydrochloride film. If a three-ply sheet is desired, one film may be brought from above around the roll 40 and another film from If the film is to'be stretched without lamination, the rolls 40, 4|, and "4.2 may be omitted.

The M1143 is situated at a sufiicient distance from the oven to permit the film to cool as it passes from the oven to this roll 43. The 'distance between the roll 43 and the oven is selected with due consideration for such factors asthe internal viscosity of the film. The internal viscosity of an unplasticized rubber hydrochloride film is high as contrasted with the internal-viscosity of aplasticized film, such as a film which contains 10 per cent of butyl stearate. The internal viscosity of such a plasticized film is so low that the film, if the stretching tension is released when the film is cooled to room temperature,.wi1l almost immediately contract to its final dimensions. On the other hand, the internal viscosity of unplasticized film is so high that-after the stretching tension has been removed when the film is cooled to room temperature, a considerable period of time elapses before the film assumes its final dimensions. The film continues to contract for a considerable period of time after the tension is removed. If the apparatus shown is usedfor stretching a plasticized film, the tension may be removedas shown When the tenter clips are about opposite the roll 43. In the short period of time which it takes for the film to pass from the roll 43 to the final wind-up roll 4, the film-retracts so that it has obtained its final dimensions before it reaches the wind-up roll '4. If the apparatus is used for stretching unplasticized film, the film if cooled to room temperature at the roll l3 may advantageously be passed over a festoon before afinally being wound on the wind-up roll 4. As an alternative procedure, the film may be first wound on the wind-up roll 4 before all contraction has taken place and then be rewound on some other roll soon thereafter. Otherwise, the retraction of the film after winding up causes the overlapping plies of the film on the wind-up roll to bind together as the film retracts. By cooling the film to a temperature above room temperature at the roll 43 (for example, to a temperature of 50 C'.), a shorter time must pass before the film is finally wound on the wind-up roll. The retraction which occurs after releasing the tension at this higher temperature takes place much more rapidly than the rate at which the retraction takes place at room temperature due to the lower internal viscosity of the film at the higher temperature.

This roll '43 cooperates with the rolls 44 and 45 to firmly grip the film, and the roll 44 is driven at a surface speed greater than that of the let-off roll I so as to impose a slight longitudinal stretch on the film as it passes through the oven. In stretching laterally, the film tends to shrink longitudinally. It has been found best to overcome this by keeping the film taut longitudinally, and the best results have been obtained by having the rolls 43, 44, and 45 travel at a somewhat greater surface speed than the surface speed of the let-ofi roll I.

The drawings show knives 50 located under th roll 45 for trimming on" the edges of the stretched film. The stretching tension is released as the tenter clips are lifted by the rods 34 just before the film enters between the rolls 43 and 44. After the film passes off of the roll 45, all stretching tension has ben released. The film starts to contract somewhat. If the film has been stretched 500 per cent, it may retract some 50 per cent before it reaches acondition in which it is stable at room temperature. The knives 50 are placed to allow for some lateral shrinkage of the film before it reaches them. The trim 49 which includes the unstretched portion of the film which is outside the line of the tenter clips during the stretching operation is drawn off from the knives 50 and rolled up on the cores 5|. These cores are supported on the driven rolls 52 which drive the rolls 5| by contact with the trim which is wound thereon.

As is usual in the commercial handling of film or sheet material on a continuous basis, a takeup roll 53 is provided. This roll is equipped with a gear which meshes with the teeth on the rack 54. The roll is pulled toward the front of the machine by the weight 55. This keeps a slight tension on the film after it passes over the roll 45 and permits for the taking up of slack or the letting out of slack as necessary to compensate for irregularities in the passage of film through the machine without shutting down the apparatus.

The guide rolls 56 are provided as means for conveying the film to the wind-up roll 4. The roll 57 may advantageously be made of sponge rubber when rubber hydrochloride film is being treated in order to remove any surface tackiness from the rubber hydrochloride. The rolls 58 are rubber covered rolls which are set at a slight angle to keep the film taut and prevent wrinkling of the film on the wind-up roll 4. The wind-up roll may advantageously be operated by a variable speed drive 59 so that the speed at which the core 60 is rotated may be decreased as the amount of film wound on the cores is increased.

Reference has been made to the use of the rolls 40, 4|, and 42 for lamination of the laterally stretched film to other sheet material, as, for example, other rubber hydrochloride film. Figs. 4 and 5 show an alternative arrangement for lamination. As indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, the rolls 40, 41, and 42 are situated just beyond that portion of the film where the lateral stretching has been completed. The film extends beyond the ends of the roll because the tenter clips pass outside the ends of this roll. Instead of locating the laminating roll at this position, it may be advantageous to allow the film to retract somewhat before laminating it to other sheet material. The fact that such retraction occurs was above referred to. If instead of locating the rolls 4il, 4|, and 42 at a point just beyond that at which the lateral stretching of the film has been completed, the roll is located where the roll 43 is shown in Fig. 1 or even at a point somewhat further removed from the oven, the film will contract at least to some extent before the lamination. The rolls 40', 4|, and 42' are shown in Figs. 4 and 5 as being located beyond the point of such contraction. The present position of the rolls is indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 5, and the alternative position here suggested is shown in full lines, and the reference numerals are distinguished by the use of primes in the latter instance.

In laminating film such as rubber hydrochloride film, difficulty has been experienced in obtaining a film which does not curl. A stretched film which at room temperature is stable becomes unstable when heated to a higher temperature since the internal viscosity is lowered on heating and the film contracts or retracts to a certain extent. When two plies of stretched rubber hydrochloride film are laminated by heat and pressure, the heat required for lamination lowers the internal viscosity of the stretched films; and these shrink, at least silghtly, and the resulting product tends to curl.

Fig. 6 shows somewhat diagrammatically means for laminating three plies of film. The roll is a heavy, heated roll. It presses against the roller 6| with sufficient pressure to laminate any intervening plies. Assume, for example, that the intermediate ply 62 is film which has been stretched laterally as the film 30 of Fig. 1. Assume that the upper ply 63 and the lower ply 64 are stretched longitudinally. Such a film is shown in Fig. 7 in which the upper ply 63 is stretched longitudinally as indicated by the arrows, the intermediate ply 62 is stretched laterally as indicated by the arrows, and the lower ply 64 has been stretched longitudinally the same as the upper ply 63. It has been found desirable in producing such a laminated film to maintain an equal tension on the films 63 and 64 as they enter the laminating device. If the tension on the film 64 is somewhat greater than the tension on the film 63, the tendency of the laminated sheet is to curl downward. If the reverse is the case-i. e., if the tension on the film 63 is greater than the tension on the film 64 as it enters the laminating devicethe tendency of the laminated sheet is to curl upward. This is not alone characteristic of three-ply film such as that here discussed. It applies, likewise, to two-ply film, both plies of which have been stretched longitudinally. It applies also to threeply film, the center ply of which is not stretched and the upper and lower plies of which are stretched longitudinally. It applies generally to multi-ply continuous film, the outer plies of which are stretched longitudinally. If the longitudinally stretched films are not uniform, it may be necessary to regulate the control devices so as to maintain the plies 63 and 64 under uniform tension throughout the operation.

Three-ply film, such as that shown in Fig. 7, has been found to have high tear resistance in all directions and is useful for various purposes. Such three-ply, rubber hydrochloride film in which the laterally stretched central ply is somewhat thicker than the outer longitudinally stretched plies has been used in the manufacture of umbrellas, for example. The outer two plies of such a film have advantageously been plasticized to increase their strength. The center ply may be plasticized or unplasticized.

Such three-ply film has been found to have less tendency to curl than a two-ply film, one ply of which is stretched laterally and the other longitudinally. The center ply, which has been stretched laterally, tends to curl up or down at the edges. The outer plies, which have been stretched longitudinally, tend to curl up or down at the ends. This is indicated by the curved arrows in Fig. 7. By laminating, the tendency to curl is reduced or eliminated. If there were but two plies, an upper ply stretched longitudinally and a lower ply stretched laterally, the tendency of the upper ply to curl downward at the edges would be retarded by the upper ply which had no tendency to curl laterally. The predominating tendency for such a two-ply laminated sheet to curl would, therefore, be its tendency to curl upward at the edges. Similarly, the tendency for such a two-ply sheet to curl downward at the ends would be overcome by the presence of the laterally stretched sheet as the under ply. The resultant tendency of such a twoply sheet to curl at the ends would, therefore, be a tendency for the sheet to curl up.

In the three-ply sheet with the intermediate ply stretched laterally and the upper and lower plies stretched longitudinally as indicated in Fig. '7, there is the same tendency for the intermediate ply to curl upward as downward and the a same tendency for the upper and lower plies to curl upward as downward. The three-ply laminated sheet, therefore, has less tendency to curl than the two-ply laminated sheet. This is true whether the intermediate ply is stretched or not stretched at all and whether or not the intermediate ply is of the same composition as the outer plies. For instance, the inner ply may be plasticized rubber hydrochloride film and the outer plies unplasticized rubber hydrochloride film, or vice versa. The inner ply may be rubber hydrochloride, and the outer plies may be of other heat-scalable material, and vice versa.

Figs. 10-15 show alternative gripping means which can be employed instead of the tenter clips shown in Figs. 1-3. Figs. 10 and 11 show tongue and groove belts H and 12 which are forced together by the channels 73. These may be used for gripping the film 14 to stretch it laterally. The channels may be lubricated as necessary with glycerine, soap or the like. In Figs. 12 and 13, two V-belts 76 and T! are shown for gripping the film 18. The end of the film protruding to the right of the V-belts may be rolled or folded over to form a bead to enable the belts to obtain a better grip on the film. Such a bead may be used with any type of gripping device. The belts are forced together by the channels 19 and 80, and these channels extend along the left side of the belts to force the belts apart so as to 8 stretch the film laterally. The belts come in contact with the rollers 8|. A device of this type may be used instead of the tenter clips for stretching the film.

The device shown in Figs. 10-13 may be used with equipment of the type shown in Fig. 1; or by properly shaping the guiding channels, the belts may carry the film down into a liquid heating bath, such as a water bath or the like, so that the film may be heated and stretched laterally. Instead of using a tongue and groove belt as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 or two V-belts as shown in Fig. 12, two tongue and groove or V-belts may be used with complementary pulleys set at an angle to one another so that if the film is fed between the belts and pulleys at the points where the pulleys are closest together, the film will be stretched as its edges are moved apart as the belts and pulleys rotate away from the said point at which they are nearest together.

Figs. 14 and 15 show a further alternative means for gripping the edges of the film. The figures show two chains which are forced together by the guide channels 89. The chains shown are of the link and block type. The links join the blocks 9| of the upper chain, and the blocks 92 of the lower chain. The blocks 9| are provided with lugs 93 which protrude down between the links 90 of the lower chain and fit snugly against the ends of the blocks 92, thus gripping the film 94 between the lugs 93 of the upper chain and the ends of the blocks 92 of the lower chain. By properly shaping the channels 89, belts of this type may be guided through any suitable heating zone; and by passing the belts through divergent channels, the film grasped between them will be stretched.

Returning now to the process of stretching and referring particularly to Fig. 1, it is desired to explain a little more in detail a feature of the process which is dependent upon the heating bafiles I6 and [1. As the heated film is stretched, it, of course, becomes thinner. The thinner the film, the more easily it is stretched. Therefore, if the film starts to stretch unevenly, and a portion of the film becomes thinner, this thinner portion will stretch more easily than the thicker portion, and the result is that if the film starts to stretch unevenly, the stretching is accentuated by the thinner film stretching more than the thicker film. In stretching film laterally, it has been found that there is a decided tendency for the film to stretch irregularly. Thi may be due to irregularities in the original film or irregularities in the heating of the film. More probably, it is due to the inertia of the film which prevents the center portion from being stretched when the film is grasped along the sides and stretched laterally. Whatever the cause, there is a decided tendency for the film to stretch near the edges more than in the center. This may be due to the speed at which it is desirable to run an apparatus such as shown in Fig. 1 where large production is desired. The speed at which the heated film is passed through the device shown in Fig. 1 would tend to result in sufilcient inertia to stretching in the center portion 'of the film to produce a high tendency to stretch near the tenter clips or other gripping means. This higher tendency of the edges of the film to stretch is overcome in the apparatus shown by maintaining the center of the film at a higher temperature than the edges. This may be controlled by the baffles l6 and I1. As the edges have a greater tendency to stretch than the center portion of the film. the apparatus is so designed that the edges stretch and become thinner and for this reason tend to become more easily stretch. The edge portions of the film are removed from the zone of highest temperature and therefore cool; and as they cool, their tendency to stretch is reduced. This offsets the inertia of the inner portion of the film to stretch, and by proper control of the heating of the film with cooling at the edges, a uniform stretch is produced.

Although the invention has been described more particularly as applied to the stretching of rubber hydrochloride film, such as the film now on the market which is sold as Pliofilm sheet material, it is applicable to the stretching of other thermostretchable sheets. These sheets may be transparent or pigmented or dyed.

The thickness of the film which may be stretched may vary, and the thickness to which it -is stretched may vary. The film may be stretched to only about 200 per cent of its original width but ordinarily will be stretched considerably more, for example, up to 600 or 800 per cent of its original width or more. Ordinarily, rubber hydrochloride film will be stretched to 400 or 500 or 690 per cent of its original width. Stretching increases the tensile strength of the film in the direction in which it is stretched, increases the tear resistance of the film in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which it is stretched, and otherwise affects the physical properties of the film.

The source of heat for stretching may be a gas, liquid, solid or vapor. If a liquid is used, the

edges as stretched may be removed from the liquid to cool them in order to produce a uniform stretch. The temperature used for stretching may vary. For rubber hydrochloride film it will be found desirable to heat the film to a temperature above about 75 C., and ordinarily a temperature between about 90 and 110 C. will be employed. For lamination of two or more plies of rubber hydrochloride film, it will ordinarily be desirable to heat the film to a temperature above about 100 or 105 C. However, the properties of films at elevated temperatures vary so that while a temperature of 105 C. may be desired for pro ducing a certain effect on one film, a somewhat higher or lower temperature will be required for producing a like effect on a difierent film. For example, the effect of temperature on. plasticized rubber hydrochloride film is somewhat different from that produced by the same temperature on unplasticized rubber hydrochloride film. Furthermore, the speed to which the film is passed through the apparatus may vary. A speed of about 12 yards per minute was found satisfactory for stretching rubber hydrochloride film.

As examples of the different operations which may be performed on rubber hydrochloride film, the following are cited: Single-ply film 0.98 inch was stretched to film 0.035 inch thick. Another film 0.135 inch was stretched to film 0.08 inch thick. Film 14 inches wide was stretched to a widtl'i. of 52 inches. A two-ply film formed by the lamination of two plies of film 0.17 inch thick was stretched to film 0.11 inch thick. The two plies may be laminated by heat and pressure they enter the oven 3. In this way two or more plies may be laminated before stretching.

The temperatures employed in the oven 3 vary about 170 to 220 the lower temperature being used where it was desired to produce in the film the greatest strains, which were relieved on sub- 10 sequent heating. The high er temperature was used where a very thick film was stretched.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 347,465, filed July 25, 1940, now Patent No. 2,429,177.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for the continuous lateral stretching of film which comprises an oven for heating the film, the oven being in two parts which are separated from one another a sufficient distance for the film to pass between them, opposed openings-in the respective parts adapted to act on the opposite sides of film located between the two parts, and on each side of the space between the two parts continuous gripping means for holding the film taut as it passes through the oven.

2. An oven for thermally stretching thermostretchable material, the heating cavity of which comprises a portion which is generally fan shaped, diverging backwardly, guide means forming a path at each side of the oven with means for passing film-gripping means therethrough, said paths diverging from the front of the fanshaped portion of the oven toward the rear, the walls of said portion of the oven being substantially parallel with said paths, and baffling means of approximately the same length as the fanshaped portion with one such battling means on each side of the fan-shaped portion and pivoted vertically at the front end thereof so as to be adapted to swing approximately in the arc of the fan-shaped portion from the walls thereof toward the center of the fan-shaped portion to a point where the two bafiling means are parallel.

3. An oven for the stretching of thermostretchable film, the oven being formed of an upper and lower half with means on the outside of the oven for conveying the film therebtween and stretching it in its passage, each half comprising at the front a short heating cavity with substantially parallel side walls and to the rear of this a cavity with walls which diverge backwardly, means for introducing heated air down and up into the respective upper and lower halves of the oven at about the juncture of said cavities, a baiile in each said means adapted to direct the heated air as it enters each half of the oven so as to control the angle at which the air approaches the film, and on each side of each half of said cavity with diverging walls a baffle pivoted on a vertical pivot located near the point where the divergence of the walls starts and adapted to be swung between its wall and a. point approximately parallel to said vertical walls of the front cavity.

4. Heating equipment built in two parts with means for passing film between them in one direction and means for heating each part, opposite sides of the equipment diverging in said direction, said means for passing film between the two parts including means on each side of the equipment and beyond said sides for gripping film positioned between said two parts and means for moving the gripping means in said direction and separating them divergently as they are moved, so as to stretch the film laterally as it is passed between said two parts.

5. An oven with a heating chamber, two walls of which are divergent, a perimetric opening in the walls of the chamber dividing the chamber into two parts so that film may be passed between them, means outside said two walls for gripping opposite edges of such film, and means for moving said gripping means in the direction in which the walls diverge and for separating the gripping 1 1 means divergently as they are moved in said direction so as .to stretch film laterally as it is passed between the two parts of the chamber.

6. An oven with a heating chamber, two walls of which are divergent, a perimetric opening in the walls of the chamber dividing the chamber into two parts so that film may be passed between them, means for introducing a heated gas into each part of the chamber and means within at least one part for directing such gas, means outside said two walls for gripping opposite edges of such film, and means for moving said gripping means in the direction in which the walls diverge and for separating the gripping means divergently as they are moved in said direction so as to stretch film laterally as it is passed between the two parts of the chamber.

FOSTER J. YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenices are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,979,762 OKane et a1 Nov. 6, 1934 2,175,125 Mack et a1 Oct. 3, 1939 2,274,150 Mack Feb. 24, 1942 2,334,022 Minich Nov. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 836,705 France Jan. 25, 1939 

